They sparred numerous times I believe. Hearns was the better overall fighter, but Hearn's chin could be cracked at MW. On a one fight scenerio,,,,,McClellan wins.
I lean towards Hearns. Tommy would know how hard McClelland hits and he would use his jab and use it to control rounds and score points and win a decision. Many people underrate Hearns because of his losses. When he wanted to box and win decisions he usually won easily.
Not against big strong middleweights though. Hearn's defense wasn't great. McClellan's wasn't either, but he took a punch better. McClellan would KO Hearns.
I don't think so. Like most people you are rating Tommy on two fights. Hagler and Barkley. If Tommy fought McClelland like he knew he was a puncher he would not be hit clean at all-when he lost at middleweight is when he took chances and tried to win by knockout, but if he fought the fight cautious and with his jab he could beat McClelland, and I think he would box him and try to land the right hand but otherwise win with his jab. Hearns was the reason he himself was knocked out both times by being careless, but McClelland would not hit Tommy since Tommy would know he cannot be hit at all by Gerald, and he wouldn't be. Tommy avoided Virgil Hill's punches (regardless if Virgil could punch), and won that fight with his jab. Tommy's defense was not as bad as you guys think it was.
Not just Hagler and Barkley. Kinchen too. And Roldan (a short, squat kind of guy) even got through Hearns's defense. I think McClellan was as strong as any of them, and hit harder.
The style was different. Kinchen was a strong guy with a good chin (before he moved up in weight) and Tommy thought he would get an early knockout. Roldan was open and those are the kinds of fights Tommy does badly in, when he has a guy who is easy to hit , then he is too overconfident. If Tommy knew he were going to fight Gerald, he would tighten up his defense and fight a more conservative fight behind his jab and try and slow down the pace. I do not think it would be the same fight as those guys since he would be respectful of McClellands power. Hearns did better when he knew what to expect.
Maybe. But I cant remember Hearns ever cleanly outboxing anyone as big and as strong as McClellan without ever getting into rough moments and/or getting hurt or beat.
I hate to say it but Mcclellan probably KO's Hearns, he has the speed/chin/technique to land his money shot
Hearns' diminished mobility and footspeed as he moved up is gonna hurt him in this one..G-Man is a bad style for this version of Tommy. But I cant help but think about how guys like Benn and for a short amount of time Jackson were able in a way outbox Gerald...well more just land on him so easily it offset enough of his bombs for them to control the ring. Tommy has far better skills then either of them and can punch probably nearly as good aswell. If Gerald had a pre-disposition to brain damage, then the Hitman could have been the man that brought it out even earlier.